Canadian soldiers returning from trenches during the Battle of the Somme.

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA000832

JULY 1, 1916
The Battle of the Somme begins. At Beaumont Hamel, the Newfoundland Regiment advances into point blank fire from German machine guns. Only 68 of 801 who went into battle answered roll call the next day.

JULY 2, 1942
British forces stop Rommel at El Alamein, Egypt.

JULY 3, 1814
American General Jacob Brown crosses the Niagara River with 4,500 troops and surrounds Fort Erie.

JULY 4, 1955
A group of anti-submarine torpedo specialists take to the air as sonar operators for six Sikorsky H04S-3s in a new navy anti-submarine helicopter squadron.

JULY 5, 1900
In South Africa, Sergeant Arthur Richardson of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse earns the Victoria Cross.

JULY 6, 1944
His Majesty’s Canadian ships Ottawa and Kootenay and His Majesty’s Ship Statice use depth charges to destroy U-678 in the English Channel.

JULY 7, 1942
Operation Rutter, the original plan for the Dieppe raid, is cancelled due to a number of factors, including bad weather reports.

JULY 8, 1955
Helicopters from Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Labrador deliver DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line supplies to Cape Fisher, N.W.T.

Canadian troops in Caen, France.

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116510

JULY 9, 1944
Canadian soldiers clear Caen of snipers, mines and booby traps following heavy fighting to take the city.

1st Canadian Division hauling transport up from the beach, Pachino, Sicily (vicinity).

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA141664

JULY 9-10, 1943
The Allied invasion of Sicily begins.

JULY 11, 1973
Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft join the international food relief effort in West Africa.

JULY 12, 1991
Canada joins a UN peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara.

JULY 13, 1993
During a ceremony the citizens of Lahr, Germany, thank Canadian troops for 42 years of service with NATO.

JULY 14, 1896
Métis scout, guide and interpreter Jerry Potts dies in Fort Macleod, Alta.

JULY 15, 2006
In Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Coalition forces kill 10 insurgents in an offensive aimed at eliminating hundreds of Taliban fighters.

JULY 16, 1945
First atomic bomb is exploded in New Mexico.

Charley Fox

PHOTO: NATIONAL DEFENCE—PL-28263

JULY 17, 1944
Canadian Spitfire pilot Charley Fox strafes a black car, injuring German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, known as the Desert Fox.

JULY 18, 1936
With the Spanish Civil War underway, rebels gain control of a larger portion of Spain. Canada remains neutral, but hundreds of Canadians volunteer to fight fascism.

JULY 19, 1968
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Bras D’Or is commissioned. The ocean-going hydrofoil will be used for anti-submarine work.

JULY 20, 1924
First World War air ace B.D. Hobbs conducts the first long-range air survey over Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

JULY 21, 1973
After 19 years, Canada withdraws from the international commission monitoring ceasefires in Vietnam.

JULY 22, 1915
Sir Sandford Fleming dies in Halifax. His legacy includes standardized worldwide time zones, the design of Canada’s first postage stamp and a huge number of railway maps and surveys.

JULY 23, 1983
After running out of fuel an Air Canada 767 passenger jet makes a safe landing on an old RCAF airfield in Manitoba. The aircraft gains the nickname The Gimli Glider.

JULY 24, 1942
A German submarine attacks convoy ON-113, then attempts a getaway, but His Majesty’s Canadian Ship St. Croix attacks and sinks U-90.

JULY 25, 1917
The Income War Tax Act is tabled, introducing the first national personal income tax. It is sold as a temporary measure to meet the costs of going to war.

JULY 26, 1945
In the United Kingdom, a cairn is unveiled at Cove, Hampshire, containing the 12,000 names of No. 1 Canadian Signal Replacement Unit personnel who served there.

United Nations officials meet with North Korean and Chinese officials prior to an armistice conference.

PHOTO: UNITED NATIONS MULTIMEDIA—191554

JULY 27, 1953
The Korean War ends with the signing of an armistice agreement at Panmunjom.

JULY 28, 1943
After vicious house-to-house fighting, Canadian troops clear enemy resistance from Agira, Sicily.

JULY 29, 1982
McDonnell Douglas chief test pilot Jack Krings takes a CF-18 Hornet on its first flight in St. Louis, Mo., reaching 1.6 Mach and altitudes of 43,000 feet. The first of 138 are delivered to Canada in October.

JULY 30, 1990
After 48 years at Goose Bay, Labrador, the U.S. announces it will withdraw planes and troops over the next year.

JULY 31, 1987
A tornado touches down during afternoon rush hour in Edmonton, killing 27, injuring at least 250 and causing more than $300 million in damage.

For ‘ON THIS DATE’ August Events, come back to legionmagazine.com on August 1st, 2013.